Here, birdie-birdie-birdie!

I have seen a hummingbird or two flitting around my holly bushes. (Really? Holly? Something good to eat there? Huh.) And I had been thinking about getting a hummingbird feeder to put up in the yard. So when I got this opportunity from The Real Farmwives of America & Friends and Perky Pet to review a feeder from their website, I jumped at the chance!

I got the double-decker top fill hummingbird feeder.

I will admit that I had a little bit of trouble figuring out how to take it apart, and how to put it back together again. I emailed with customer service, got fantastic help from them in record time, and had the feeder up and functional within an hour of opening the box. (even with my technical difficulties!)

When the double-decker feeder arrived, it was in its final assembly form. But it does come apart into two separate feeders.

The lid of the bottom feeder (the one on the right) snaps into the base of the top feeder (on the left). Gently pull them apart for two smaller feeders.

Underneath each of the lids is an o-ring. This o-ring looks pretty simple and boring. It is not. It is essential. Whatever you do, do not lose these o-rings!!The feeder itself did not come with instructions, but the website has some “Care and Instructions” information. I ignored this the first time I tried to fill my feeder. Do not ignore this information!

The most important thing, ever, is to grease the o-rings. I used olive oil, because that is what I had handy, but any kind of vegetable oil will work, too. This is so important to form a vacuum seal inside the feeder.

The first time I filled the feeders, I did not grease the o-rings. And I had a hummingbird fountain instead of a feeder. Seriously. The nectar just came pouring out of the holes in the pretty white flowers. All over my counter, sink, shoes, and floor. Ick – sticky.

But, a quick email to customer service, a check of the website, and a grease of the o-rings, and it was like magic!!

So… after your o-rings are good and greased, slip them back over the necks of the containers, fill your feeders with nectar (this was store-bought pre-made nectar – I have also used the powder mix, but haven’t made my own yet), and put the tops back on. Carefully.

If you get any kind of leakage out of the flowers, take the tops right back off again and re-grease your o-rings. Seriously. Then gently snap the top of the bottom feeder into the base of the top feeder.One other piece of advice. No tipping of the feeders once they are full. This will also make the nectar leak out of the flowers.

Then hang your feeder outside!!I will admit, I have not had much luck with my feeders yet. I think I may have them in a place that gets too much sun. I think I will move them back by the holly bushes closer to the house where they will get more shade.

But I did see two hummingbirds getting a snack the night of our last big storm. (Believe it or not, these pictures were taken an hour and a half after this video of that storm!)

Here he comes… For a quick snack…They traded off – back and forth from the feeder to the tree that is back behind the feeder pole a bit. I guess the gold finches got hungry after the storm, too!

I switched to the red nectar the second time I filled the feeder (a lot of the nectar was spilled during the storm). I have heard that the red is better than the clear for attracting hummingbirds in the first place, but once they know where the feeders are it doesn’t make much difference.

Either way, I haven’t seen much hummingbird action recently. Hopefully, a move into a more shaded area will do the trick.

If you would like to win a Hummingbird Feeder of your own, please head over to the Real Farmwives of America & Friends Blog (www.realfarmwivesofamerica.com) and sign up for the giveaway!

Perky Pet did provide me with this product to review, however the thoughts and opinions shared about this product on this blog are my own.